name:
Angel / nineflystudying:
media theory + psychologymini-bio: Book blogger and semi-professional graphic designer, I enjoy reading all kinds of books and ranting on about them afterwords. I apologize for not being much of a social person, but I try to reply to all response-seeking comments =)

1 umbrella:☂☂☂☂☂
could not finish2 umbrella:☂☂☂☂☂
at least it tried3 umbrella:☂☂☂☂☂
not amazing, but not bad4 umbrella:☂☂☂☂☂
well worth your time5 umbrella:☂☂☂☂☂
definite shelf-keeper

favourites:♥
my personal favourites, regardless of rating 8D

Publishers & Authors:
If you would like to guest post, participate in an interview, or send me a book for review or to give away, please take a look at my detailed review policy and contact me using this form, or email me at ninefly(at)gmail(dot)com!
Self-published books are absolutely welcome! Please note my mailing address is Canadian.
I submit reviews to Amazon.ca, Book Depository, goodreads, LibraryThing, and Shelfari.

I would also like to thank everyone who's following me so far! I really appreciate your support =)

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Each week I will post a list of the books I've borrowed, received, or bought. I will keep a weekly tally in each post, as well as a yearly one on the sidebar. All books with PoC themes/authors will be listed for the "New Crayons" meme.
All prices are listed in Canadian dollars.(hosted weekly by The Story Siren / The Printed Page; New Crayons by Color Online)

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

A weekly event on my blog where I post about books (not necessarily pre-release or new) that I've just added to my wishlist, along with a little blurb on why I want to read it.(hosted by Book Chick City & Breaking the Spine)

Chinese-born Cece was adopted when she was two years old by her American parents. Living in Texas, she’s bored of her ho-hum high school and dull job. So when she learns about the S.A.S.S. program to Xi’an, China, she jumps at the chance. She’ll be able to learn about her passion — anthropology — and it will give her the opportunity to explore her roots. But when she arrives, she receives quite a culture shock. And the closer she comes to finding out about her birth parents, the more apprehensive she gets. Enter Will, the cute guy she first meets on the plane. He and Cece really connect during the program. But can he help her get accustomed to a culture she should already know about, or will she leave China without the answers she’s been looking for?

Why it's on my wishlist
Recommended to me by Ari =) I'm taking the China Reading Challenge this year, but I want to read this more because I've had some direct experience with the one-child policy in China (my little brother was technically "illegal").

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Each week I will post a list of the books I've borrowed, received, or bought. I will keep a weekly tally in each post, as well as a yearly one on the sidebar. All books with PoC themes/authors will be listed for the "New Crayons" meme.
All prices are listed in Canadian dollars.(hosted weekly by The Story Siren / The Printed Page; New Crayons by Color Online)

Friday, March 19, 2010

A weekly feature on my blog where I post up cover images that fit a weekly theme - art styles, artists, colour schemes, etc. In essence, this is a meme that celebrates book covers as pieces of art. Covers link to larger images and titles to goodreads summaries.

This week's theme:Dan Dos Santos (cover artist)artist website | artist gallery
I've featured some of this artist's works in previous themes before, so I'll try to include ones I haven't mentioned yet for this week =)

One of the reasons I decided to buy the entire Marla Mason series (at the time books 1-3) at full price when I saw them at the bookstore was because I really loved the cover art. It's not really "refined/clean" beauty, but what I adored about it was definitely the hands. If you look at close-ups of the covers, you will see what I mean: the hands are gorgeous. The fingernails, the knuckles, the fingers themselves ♥♥♥ And by association, the arm muscles as well. I personally love hands and muscles in art because they're the hardest portions to master in my opinion. Tattoos are cool too 8D

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.
Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire -- and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.
With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

Why I Read This
Paranormal steampunk sounded like such an awesome mesh, plus I loved the style of humor on the back cover blurb =D

First Lines

Miss Alexia Tarabotti was not enjoying her evening. Private balls were never more than middling amusements for spinsters, and Miss Tarabotti was not the kind of spinster who could garner even that much pleasure from the event. To put the pudding in the puff: she had retreated to the library, her favorite sanctuary in any house, only to happen upon an unexpected vampire.
She glared at the vampire.

Overall Rating

☂☂☂☂.5

It has been utterly too long a time since I've giggled my way through an entire novel - in the good way. This novel is filled with intricate world-building, smoothly blending paranormal oddities within a steampunk setting. The most winning part of all however, has definitely got to be the incredibly quirky, yet sympathizing and adore-able characters, major and minor. There is no cliffhanger ending, but this is the kind of book where you'll be pining for the sequel just to meet the characters again.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

A weekly event on my blog where I post about books (not necessarily pre-release or new) that I've just added to my wishlist, along with a little blurb on why I want to read it.(hosted by Book Chick City & Breaking the Spine)

Fourteen-year-old Nick would be lying dead in a Brooklyn park — murdered by drug dealers ­— had Peter not sprung out of the trees to save him. Now the irresistibly charismatic wild boy wants Nick to follow him into a strange and unsettling mist swirling around the bay. Even though he is wary of Peter's crazy talk of faeries and monsters, Nick agrees. After all, nowhere in New York City is safe for him now. And what more can he possibly lose?
There is always more to lose.
Accompanying Peter to a gray and ravished island that was once a lush, enchanted paradise, Nick finds himself unwittingly recruited for a war that has raged for centuries. He must learn to fight or die as he struggles to fit in with the "Devils" — Peter's savage tribe of lost and stolen children.
Here, Peter's dark past is revealed: left to wolves as an infant, despised, tormented, and hunted, Peter moves between the worlds of faerie and man, struggling to understand what he is and where he belongs. The Child Thief is a leader of bloodthirsty children, a brave friend, and a creature driven to do whatever he must to kill the dreaded Captain and stop his murderous crew of "Flesh-eaters" before they blight every trace of magic left in this dying land.

Why it's on my wishlist
I'll admit I was a big fan of Peter Pan when I was a kid - used to watch our VHS of the Disney version over and over again. I've also read the original fairytale, which was really sad and quite dark as expected, but of course I always welcome an even darker interpretation >D The "dangerous companions" trope is one of my favourites, and I'd love to see how a male character - rather than Wendy - would shift the story's focus (even more).

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

For those interested, I've contributed a guest post on the GLBT Challenge 2010 blog for the March Mini-Challenge on GLBT comics. My post focuses on recommendations for GLBT manga (including gay, lesbian, and bisexual/transgendered). Check it out if you're interested =)

I'm just gonna dispense with the "planning to read" section for now because I truly have no idea how much time I can spare to read each book =(

Blog Designs
Been busy all week with design requests: a blog layout for my 50 followers giveaway winner (mostly done), header design for a new YA book webzine (done, launching in April!), and a splash image for my Dad's company website (done!) lol. I'll be posting up the book blog related designs when they go live on my design site, and maybe set up a pricing system if enough people show interest in buying designs from me (my current layout is an example of my work). Pricing may start as low as $20/layout or $10/header since I'm just starting out, so watch for an announcement if you're waiting to see more examples, or email me with a request now (contact info on sidebar) =)

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Each week I will post a list of the books I've borrowed, received, or bought. I will keep a weekly tally in each post, as well as a yearly one on the sidebar. All books with PoC themes/authors will be listed for the "New Crayons" meme.
All prices are listed in Canadian dollars.(hosted weekly by The Story Siren / The Printed Page; New Crayons by Color Online)

Friday, March 12, 2010

A weekly feature on my blog where I post up cover images that fit a weekly theme - art styles, artists, colour schemes, etc. In essence, this is a meme that celebrates book covers as pieces of art. Covers link to larger images and titles to goodreads summaries.

This week's theme:Title Fonts
special/pretty fonts that compliments or stands out even more than the images

The title is usually of great importance to a book cover. I love it when cover artists take the time to really fancify the titles rather than just slap them on half-assed in the default Times New Roman font (though that works for some designs). Covers like those of Magic Under Glass (old ver.) and Bleeding Violet, and a lot of smaller-name publisher books, suffer greatly from the horrible fonts/effects used for the titles despite gorgeous cover images.

What are your favourite covers with special/pretty fonts? Or, what covers do you think benefits greatly by the design of the title, special or not?

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

A weekly event on my blog where I post about books (not necessarily pre-release or new) that I've just added to my wishlist, along with a little blurb on why I want to read it.(hosted by Book Chick City & Breaking the Spine)

Cassel comes from a family of curse workers -- people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail -- he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.
Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.

Why it's on my wishlist
I've never read Tithe and am not particularly moved to anytime soon, but the premise of this book sounds a lot more interesting. There's been a little buzz about the model on the ARC cover being too pale for the racially-ambiguous MC, but the author has assured readers that the final cover will show the model with slightly darker skin (see this post for a detailed explanation).

Monday, March 8, 2010

Just grab your current read, open to a random page, and share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!(hosted at Should Be Reading)

“By the time he'd finished reading the notebook, Jack's cigarette was little more than a tube of ash. He stubbed the remains out on his boot-heel.
<<Is it him?>> he asked.
Tzu-lu was so surprised at hearing a white man speak Chinese that he very nearly missed what came next.from chapter 1 of Year of the Horse by Justin Allen

Still not sure what to make of this yet, but I'm looking forward to the Chinese Western vibes, a la Firefly (w/o the sci-fi) 8D

Special Feature
Justin Allen, author of Year of the Horse, has contacted me and would like me to spread the word about a 3-part essay he is writing on the publishing industry and genre fiction. Below is a little excerpt he's sent me, and the full first part should be live at Sci-Fi Signal today at noon:

“

For the Love of Pete, Don’t Mix Your Genres;
Or...The New York Times Book Review Hates YOU, but I Don’t;
Or...Why Where Your Book Gets Shelved Determines Your Intelligence, Work-Ethic and Value to Society

That’s a longish title I’ll admit, and while I generally don’t go in for such larded vessels, in this case I’m willing to make an exception. Monstrous though it may seem (and most assuredly is), the above title sums up pretty much everything I have to say on the subjects of writing and publishing. The first line ought to be read as a word of warning to struggling writers. The second explains - in as much as an explanation of the unintelligible is even possible - why the publishing industry behaves as it does. And the third highlights our common enemy, which turns out to be ourselves.
Really - if I must say so myself - that title is a wonder of economy, precision and restraint. But maybe you’d like me to elaborate? Normally I’d refuse - principally on the grounds that my arguments tend to be weakened by exploration - but as I have been contracted to provide a minimum of fifteen minutes of reading diversion, I will betray myself and attempt to explain...

Sunday, March 7, 2010

One night, in cities all across Europe, five children vanish - only to appear, years later, at an exclusive New York party with a strange and
elegant governess. Rumor and mystery follow the Faust teenagers to the city's most prestigious high school, where they soar to suspicious heights with the help of their benefactor's extraordinary "gifts."
But as the students claw their way up - reading minds, erasing scenes, stopping time, stealing power, seducing with artificial beauty - the side-effects of their own addictions. And as they make further deals with the devil, they uncover secrets more shocking than their most unforgivable sins.

Why I Read This
I have never read the full text of the original Faust, but I've heard the story and this new interpretation of it sounded quite interesting. I also do love sibling banter and the tragedy of power theme.

First Lines

Five Years Previously
London
Victoria didn’t have time to play. She didn’t have time for friends or laughing or jumping or any other thing little kids do. Victoria was ten, but she didn’t like ten-year-olds. At all the London dinner parties, her job was to shut up and look well-behaved for the adults. She would sit in a big plush armchair, her feet barely touching the floor, and she would pick the petals off a bouquet of blue hydrangeas in a nearby vase. She would quietly brood as she watched the adults circle the room, drink tea or cocktails, and comment on the sculptures in the foyer.

Overall Rating

☂☂☂☂

An amazing tale wrought out of teenage desires fulfilled and tested, complicated character dynamics, and the cruel consequences of desperation. It is hard to watch the teens grow more obsessed and dependent on their powers, at the same time alienating themselves and hiding behind their cruelty. The twists and turns in the last few chapters delves further into that overhead question of willing sacrifice versus coming to peace with oneself, culminating in what I choose to believe as an ending open for interpretation.
The narrator breathes a vibrant and colourful life into the story through her amazing range of accents for each character, major or minor, it is easy to overlook the sometimes underwhelming writing.

2. Pass this award on to 15 bloggers you've recently discovered and whom you think are fantastic.

3. Contact said Blogs to let them know they've won.

4. State 7 Things about yourself!

Seven Things:
o1. I do not own a book shelf.
o2. I love broccoli and asparagus.
o3. I love trees, in the aesthetic sense.
o4. I spend 1/3 of every year in China.
o5. I speak English, Mandarin, a bit of Cantonese, and very basic Japanese.
o6. I've translated manga, movies, and variety shows from Japanese to English, as a hobby.
o7. I've just burnt a scar into my eyelid with a hairdryer *FAIL*

Each week I will post a list of the books I've borrowed, received, or bought. I will keep a weekly tally in each post, as well as a yearly one on the sidebar. All books with PoC themes/authors will be listed for the "New Crayons" meme.
All prices are listed in Canadian dollars.(hosted weekly by The Story Siren / The Printed Page; New Crayons by Color Online)

Friday, March 5, 2010

A weekly feature on my blog where I post up cover images that fit a weekly theme - art styles, artists, colour schemes, etc. In essence, this is a meme that celebrates book covers as pieces of art. Covers link to larger images and titles to goodreads summaries.

In the magical/paranormal world, usually when someone is endowed with special powers, their eyes become "special". There are a lot of different ways to accentuate a person's eyes: flecks of unnatural colour, makeup, lighting, etc.
What are your favourite covers that prominently feature a model's eyes?

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

A weekly event on my blog where I post about books (not necessarily pre-release or new) that I've just added to my wishlist, along with a little blurb on why I want to read it.(hosted by Book Chick City & Breaking the Spine)

Nicodemus is a young, gifted wizard with a problem. Magic in his world requires the caster to create spells by writing out the text...but he has always been dyslexic, and thus has trouble casting even the simplest of spells. And his misspells could prove dangerous, even deadly, should he make a mistake in an important incantation.
Yet he has always felt that he is destined to be something more than a failed wizard. When a powerful, ancient evil begins a campaign of murder and disruption, Nicodemus starts to have disturbing dreams that lead him to believe that his misspelling could be the result of a curse. But before he can discover the truth about himself, he is attacked by an evil which has already claimed the lives of fellow wizards and has cast suspicion on his mentor. He must flee for his own life if he’s to find the true villain.
But more is at stake than his abilities. For the evil that has awakened is a power so dread and vast that if unleashed it will destroy Nicodemus...and the world.

Why it's on my wishlist
As a reader, I'm always fascinated by the written language and how words can mean so many different things in different contexts. I'm also a sucker for characters who struggle against mental illnesses or deficiencies, such as autism, multiple personality, schizophrenia, etc. Plus, the author has had personal experience with the topic at hand (dyslexia) so I'm pretty excited about the character development =D

Adventurer.
The name never uttered without scorn, they are long loathed for their knowledge of nothing beyond violence and greed and their utter disregard for human life, least of all their own.
And Lenk, a young man with a sword in his hand and a voice in his head, counts them as his closest company.
Charged with retrieving the Tome of the Undergates, a written key to a world long forgotten by mankind and home to creatures determined to return, Lenk is sent after ancient evangelical demons, psychotic warrior women and abominations lost to myth. Against them, he has but two weapons: a piece of steel and five companions as eager to kill each other as they are to help him.

Why it's on my wishlist
Ohhh, I do adore adventure fantasies with bloodthirsty pseudo-companions always at each others throats. Terribly curious about the "voice in his head" part ;D

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Just grab your current read, open to a random page, and share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!(hosted at Should Be Reading)

“"Ivy, my dear," said Miss Tarabotti as her friend bustled up, "how marvelous of you to find time to walk at such short notice! What a hideous bonnet. I do hope you did not pay too much for it."
"Alexia! How perfectly horrid of you to criticize my hat. Why would I not be able to walk this morning? You know I never have anything better to do on Thursdays. Thursdays are so tiresome, don't you find?" replied Miss Hisselpenny.from chapter 2 of Soulless by Gail Carriger

I haven't giggled my way through a book in such a long time. The humour is of the "disastrously polite" variety, layered with bucketloads of sarcasm. Side characters are incredibly enjoyable, as is the deliciously described world and intriguing mystery in the plot. I do adore friends that are comfortable enough with each other to bluntly declare their true opinions lol

Didn't manage to get that far on reading this weekend...slept through most of it lol
No books received this week either =( I am expecting a few in the mail though.
Soulless is looking mighty good as I read, I'll have a review up within the week =)

Giveaway Reminder
My first giveaway is officially closed! I will announce the winners within the day! Thank you all for entering, a new 100 followers contest should be coming shortly! =)